It seems that Kenyans might just have to be mindful about everything they pick from the supermarket shelves, especially food items. It’s sad to think that there are organizations such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) that exists to protect the consumer but unfortunately, the consumer is still at risk of unknowingly purchasing substandard goods that could pose as a health risk.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), police yesterday arrested two people who were found repackaging expired wheat flour at a house in Nairobi’s Dandora area.
#ExpiredGoods|@DCI_Kenya Detectives yesterday raided a house within Siranga area in Dandora & recovered several Bales of expired Exe Wheat, Dola Wheat and Golden Wheat Flours that were being repackaged after expiring in July 2018.Two people arrested;Joyce Nyambura & Samuel Kamau. pic.twitter.com/aQWIR9rzhk
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) November 1, 2018
“Detectives yesterday raided a house within Siranga area in Dandora & recovered several Bales of expired Exe Wheat, Dola Wheat and Golden Wheat Flours that were being repackaged after expiring in July 2018.Two people arrested;Joyce Nyambura & Samuel Kamau,” read a tweet from the official DCI Twitter account.
The detectives who were acting on a tip off, raided the house and found the suspects identified as Ms. Joyce Nyambura and Mr. Samuel Kamau, repackaging several bales of expired wheat flour believed to have been for Exe, Dola and Golden wheat flour companies.
According to the detectives, the wheat flour had an expiry date of July 2018 but was being repackaged to read a new date.
This comes barely a month after police raided a go down along Mombasa Road in Nairobi and found nearly 5,000 bales of counterfeit and expired diapers.
The police who impounded the diapers said that the owner had hired workers to stick fake Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) stamps on the diapers worth approximately 30 million shillings which had expired between January and May of 2017.
The DCI summoned KEBS officials, clearing agents, transporters and the owner of a warehouse after the recovery of the expired baby diapers.
The diapers and wheat flour is not all. Early this year, police arrested several people in different parts of the country with contraband sugar believed to have been laced with mercury, copper, yeast and mold. According to an analysis carried out on samples of the 1,400 bags of illegal sugar seized by police, some of the sugar contained contaminated water insoluble matter.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the elements found in mercury are toxic to the central and peripheral nervous systems. The organisation also said that mercury is capable of causing some types of cancer and harming internal organs.
What stringent measures do you think the government of Kenya needs to put in place to protect the consumer?
Who do you think is responsible for such loopholes in consumer protection and ensuring quality standards?Y